Networks often include nodes that forward traffic to one another. For example, a network may include a node that establishes a communication session (such as a Transport Control Protocol (TCP) session) with another node. In this example, the node may send traffic via the communication session across the network toward the other node. The traffic may arrive at a firewall responsible for protecting the other node against potential security threats. Upon receiving the traffic, the firewall may perform some type of security inspection to determine whether the traffic poses a threat to the other node.
In one example, the security inspection performed on the traffic may involve comparing the traffic against a set of Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) signatures. Unfortunately, in the event that this set consists of a large number of IPS signatures, the security inspection may take a significant amount of time and/or consume a significant amount of computing resources, thereby potentially impairing the firewall's performance and/or the communication session's performance.
On the one hand, such a security inspection may prove to be worthwhile when performed on suspicious and/or harmful traffic. However, on the other hand, such a security inspection may prove to be overkill and/or an unnecessary use of time and/or computing resources when performed on unsuspicious and/or benign traffic.